Ming Empire

Chapter 259
Of course, Cao Yue couldn't fully understand Dorgon's strategic intentions, but after receiving the battle reports from various directions, he also immediately understood that Dorgon was going to attack on a large scale, and the rhythm of victory would be determined by the first battle.

Jiannu didn't focus on attacking in one direction, but just wanted to disrupt the defensive rhythm of the Ming army.

Because Jiannu's movements were detected in advance and adequate precautions were taken, Jiannu's raids in several directions did not achieve results, and the defense line of the Ming army did not collapse.Cao Yue still concluded that Dorgon's main attack direction was on the front line of Linqing and Dezhou, and the attacks in other directions were only sneak attacks, and the number of troops was not large, so he did not send a reserve team to reinforce him, but only ordered the guards to follow the established plan. Plan defense, support each other, guard your own defense line, and don't give Jiannu the opportunity to intersperse and divide.

The information sent back by the special guard battalion and other scouts also showed that the main force of Jiannu was still led by Dorgon, and was coming in the direction of Dezhou, Linqing, and Liaocheng.

Cao Yue concluded that Jiannu's main attack direction must be the direction where the main force of the Ming army is assembled, and Dorgon's purpose is to destroy the vital forces of the Ming army.Cao Yue also postponed his attack on Cangzhou and reduced his troops in order to fight Jiannu decisively.

At the same time, he also secretly ordered the sailors to speed up their march and launch an attack on Tianjin Wei by surprise.And after capturing Tianjin Wei, he took advantage of the situation to attack Beijing.Regardless of whether Beijing can be captured or not, the naval warships must arrive under the city of Beijing, causing enormous psychological pressure on Dorgon.

In summer, there were many storms on the sea, which greatly restricted the speed of the naval warships, and the arrival time at Tianjin Wei was at least ten days later than Cao Yue expected.This is also something that can’t be helped, the so-called planning depends on the people, and the success depends on the sky. Today’s naval warships are not strong enough to withstand wind and waves.

But the time delay is not a bad thing, at least the current Dorgon did not expect that there was still a force in the Ming army preparing to attack Tianjin Wei.Tianjin Guard's defensive strength has not increased, and even when Dorgon was preparing for a decisive battle with the Ming army, Tianjin Guard's defenders were still reduced, and they went south to support the main force's attack.

The secret combat capabilities of the Special Guard Battalion are constantly improving. In the process of constantly causing trouble for Jiannu, they have continuously passed back information.The movement of the main force of the slave establishment, as well as the movement of the troops to attack those troops, were basically under the control of the elite squads of the Special Guard Battalion, which provided great convenience for Cao Yue and his generals to deal with them.

In mid-August, near the main position of the Ming army in the northwest of Dezhou, a cavalry cavalry group that established slaves finally appeared.

Because he was often attacked by the elite squads of the Ming army, Dorgon also knew that there was no way to hide the movement of the army he led from Cao Yue, so he didn't intend to cover it up, and rushed towards Dezhou with great fanfare.

Dezhou is the northernmost city occupied by the Ming army. Dorgon wanted to take back Shandong, and Dezhou was a place that must be captured.If Dezhou is recovered, the crisis in Cangzhou can also be resolved, and it can also attack from Dezhou to Jinan Prefecture, and the passage into Shandong will be opened.

The battle between the two sides started on a certain morning when the osmanthus seeds were fragrant in August.

Cao Yue still took command in person. A total of more than 12 people from six Guards Divisions participated in the frontal battle of the Dezhou Defense War, including two divisions each from the First to Third Guards.Each army has about one division of troops as a reserve force. Among the 12 people, there are more than [-] musketeers, and the rest are artillery, cavalry, pikemen and infantry.

Cao Yue's plan is to equip all guard divisions of the Ming Dynasty Guards with firearms, the cavalry is only used as an auxiliary unit, and the pikemen and other units that are not suitable for warfare in the era of hot weapons are cancelled.Musketeers are far more lethal than other arms on the battlefield. Musketeers and artillery will become the main forces that determine the war.It's just that the manufacture and update of weapons is far from meeting actual needs, and everything can only be done slowly.
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At the head of the city of Dezhou, Cao Yue took some of his subordinates, as well as Liu Liangzuo, Gao Jie, Li Chengdong and many other generals who were former leaders of the four towns in Jiangbei, standing on the height of the gate tower, commanding the battle.

In the binoculars, one can already see the well-groomed Jiannu marching towards the field fortifications of the Ming army.

In the end, they stopped about four or five miles away from the front of the Ming army.This is the effective range of the new artillery equipped by the Ming army. Before charging, Jiannu dared not get too close for fear of being killed by the powerful artillery of the Ming army.

The air quality in the Ming Dynasty was very good, and there were no mountains outside Dezhou City. Under the sunlight, it could be seen from ten miles away.Cao Yue held up his binoculars to check the enemy's situation. After careful observation, he was surprised to find that it was not Jiannu's servants who were preparing to attack, but the most elite Jurchen Eight Banners.

"Jiannu has always let the servant army and the Mongols take the lead, but this time Dorgon went out of his way and let the most elite Eight Banners cavalry take the lead. What do you think it is for?" Cao Yue asked Gao Jie beside him with a smile.

"Dorgon wants to use the powerful combat power of the Jurchen Jingqi to break through the defense line of our Ming army and disrupt our army's position," Gao Jie replied immediately, and said with a proud look: "The last battle of Liaocheng, Jian The slaves suffered a disastrous defeat and their morale was low, Dorgon urgently needed a victory to boost morale, otherwise they would not be able to fight this battle."

The other generals immediately agreed, saying that Dorgon had fought hard this time, and that he did not hesitate to spend all his money in order to break through the defense line of the Ming army.

"Since Dorgon is desperate, let's play with him," Cao Yue said, with a smirk on his face, "By the order of the governor, the artillery is ready to shoot. As soon as Jiannu starts to charge, all the artillery The most intensive shooting method, shoot out the shells for me. If there are Jiannu who slipped through the net and rush to the front, the musketeers will also intercept them with the most intensive shooting. The governor does not consider how much ammunition we have, we don’t need them Remember, all the sergeants beat me hard, and let Jiannu see what it means to be bleeding like a river, it's horrible."

Amidst the loud cheers from the generals around him, a sergeant immediately conveyed Cao Yue's order.

Following Cao Yue's order, the artillery and musketeers who had already been ready were immediately excited.Immediately after that, they can start killing and greet Jiannu with guns. Why aren't they excited?
Soon, Jiannu's attack began. Two groups of Jurchen cavalry, about 5000 people, came out from the left and right wings of the Jiannu formation at the same time.The Battle of Texas officially started.

(End of this chapter)